Adjustable apron for folding machines



May 9, 1950 c. s. MALOTT, JR

ADJUSTABLE APRON FOR FOLDING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 17, 1946 l I I l I I I l I INVENTOR CLIFTON S. MALQTT JR.

I BY

ATTORNEYS May 9, 1950 .c. s. MALOTT, JR 2,506,803

7 ADJUSTABLE APRON FOR FOLDING MACHINES Filed June 17, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CLIFTON S. MALOTT JR.

$4, A ORNEYS Patented May 9, 1950 ADJUSTABLE APRON FOR FOLDING MACHINES Clifton S. vMalott, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The American Laundry Machinery Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 17, 1946, Serial No. 677,367

4 Claims.

This invention relates to folding machines for cross folding flat articles made of textile fabrics, such as sheets, towels, pillow cases and the like.

, The invention has more particular relation to the work-receiving apron, to which work to be folded is fed either manually, by an operator, or automatically, by the delivery tapes of an ironing machine.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved folding machine in which the workreceiving apron is adjustable vertically to enable it to be lowered to provide more room or to get it out of the way of the descending arms and other parts of the ironer, when they are lowered.

Another object is to provide such an arrangement of the work-receiving apron as will enable it to be lowered either manually or automatically.

Another object is to provide means to maintain the tapes or ribbons in their proper positions, when they are loosened or slacked as the apron is lowered.

Further objects of the invention in part are obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

In the drawings, which represent one suitable embodiment of the invention,

' Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view;

Fig. 2 is an end view of a folded article;

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view, on a larger scale, of the receiving apron and its supports;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4- i, Fig. 3, but showing another position of the parts;

Fig. 5 is a similar view, some parts being omitted or shown in dot-dash lines, illustrating another adjustment; and

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional plan view, on the line 66, Fig. 4.

As to many of its features the present folding machine requires no detailed description, since they are the subject matter of my other copending applications, Serial Numbers 677,366, for Folding machine, and 677,368, for By-pass mechanism for folding machines, filed of even date herewith, the former of which has issued as U. S. Patent No. 2,464,823 on Mar. 22, 1949, to which reference may be had if desirable or necessary. For the purposes of this application it is suificient to say that the machine includes a suitable frame It in which are mounted rolls H to ll, inclusive, over which travel three sets of endless tapes or belts [8, I9, 20. Articles to be folded are delivered upon the first set of belts, l8, are transferred to belts l9 and 20 and are delivered by the latter, over roll l3 to vibratory blade 2i, upon which they are draped or hung and by which they are 2 fed to the bite between folding rolls 2 2, 23 which deliver them to an apron 24, down which they slide to table 25.

Each article A is folded to the form shown in Fig. 2, with a double transverse fold and with the edges coinciding.

The present invention has to do with the upper or work-receiving tapes l8 and the parts for supporting and adjusting them.

Machines of this kind sometimes stand by themselves and are used individually, with manual feed, independently of other machines. Others are placed close toan earlier ironing machine, with the work passing from one machine to the other. In either case the work to be folded is fed to the receiving apron which includes the tapes l8, traveling upwardly away from the work-receiving end of the apron, and it is desirable at times to be able to lower this workreceiving end.

For this purpose roll it, around which tapes I8 travel, is journalled in two bearing blocks 26, each having a rod 21 screwed into one end of a right and left threaded turn buckle nut 28 threaded at its opposite end upon rod 29 attached to block 36. This block is swiveled or turns upon the horizontal axis of shaft 31 mounted in a bracket 3-2, carried by the frame. Beyond the shaft 3! block 36 carries a rod 33 provided at its end with a block 34 in which is swiveled a screw rod 35 having an operating crank or handle 36 and screwed into a threaded block 3'! secured to one end of a tension spring 38, a like block 39 at the opposite end of said spring being secured by rod 66 to the frame.

Fig. 1 illustrates the parts of the folding machine in operating position. The work-receiving end of the receiving apron (the left-hand end in Fig. 1) has been adjusted to its uppermost position and turn buckle nuts 28 have been adjusted to take up all slack in the several tapes of the belts and insure positive drive and movement thereof. Work may be fed to the belts manually, by an operator standing at the lefthand end of the machine, roller l4 being at a suitable and convenient level for that purpose.

Should it be desired to lower the work-receiving end of the apron for any reason, cranks 36 (one at each side of the machine) may be rotated to Withdraw or unscrew the rod 35 from the threaded blocks 37, thus slacking off the tension of the springs '38 and permitting the apron supporting parts, including rollers M, to drop to the position shown in dot-dash lines, Fig. 5. In this position the upper strands of the belts I 8 are supported by the pivot shaft 3!, as shown in Fig. 4. To avoid possible displacement of the individual belts, which are relatively narrow, I provide a belt guide, consisting of a series of rods 4|, one between each two adjacent belts, said rods being supported by a tie rod 42 and a cross bar 43, as shown in Fig. 6.

However, one important purpose .of the construction is its utility when used in connection with an ironing machine. One common form, of ironing machine is conventionally shown by the dot-dash lines in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. It includes a frame 50 to which are pivotally connected at. 5!, arms 52 which support rollers 53, 54 .over which travel the belts 55 for conveying the WOIK being ironed. These arms 52 are vertically adjustable, by swinging motion about the pivotal axis 5| for which purpose they are provided with rollers 56 traveling on cams 51.

Fig. 1 shows the arms 52 of the ironing machine in their upper, operative position, in which the ironing machine belts travel along the heated ironing chest for ironing the work going through the machine. Whenever the ironing machine is stopped for any considerable period, such as at a noon lunch recess, or when making adjustments or the like, cams 51 are rotated 180, or to. the position shown in Fig. 4, permitting the arms 52 to descend and cause the traveling belts, to move away from the heated chests, thus to avoid burning or charring them.

In the present instance the blocks 26., which carry the bearings for roller I 4, are provided with end projections 58, Fig. 3, located in .such position as to be engaged by the descending arms {52, the downward motion of which (as well as their heavy weight) automatically moves the work-receiving portion of the apron in the present folding machine to the position shown, in Fig. 4. This operation, of course, extends the tension springs 38. Thus, the folding machine may be so located in operative position of the parts, that the roller 14 is beneath roller 54 and finished work delivered by the belts 55 is discharged directly upon the tapes 1,8 of the folding machine. But, at the same time, when the arms 52 of the ironing machine .are lowered, the folding machine work-receiving apron moves down automatically out of the way, without any attention by the operator.

Adjustment of the parts of the apron manually, as by operation of cranks '36, may also be resorted to when the folding machine is used with an ,ironer, as described, for the purpose of proyiding space between the ironing machine and folding machine for access to any of the parts .of either, or for any other purpose.

Of course, if the ironing machine arms automatically depress the folding machine apron, as in Fig. 4, upon elevation of those arms, the apron parts automatically are returned to their original positions by the tension in and contractile effect .of springs 38. Any suitable stop device or means may be employed to limit upward motion of the apron parts, the drawings showing for that purpose edge portions 60 of the frame I0, which serve as abutments for engagement by lateral extensions 33a of arms 33.

Further advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. Flatwork feeding apparatus of the character described, comprising a frame, an endless traveling apron upon the upper stretch of which work may be deposited for advance in the apparatus, rollers for supporting the end loops of said apron, one thereof over which the work is discharged being rotatable upon a fixed axis in the frame, a pair of two-armed levers pivoted in the frame on a transverse axis, one arm of each extending outwardly from the frame and supporting one end of the other roller, and two links, one connected to the. other arm of each lever, extending downwardly from said lever arms and each including a spring co necte to h f ame for o hyie a ly uppor in th l v carri d ro l r in. el .Vated operating position and maintaining the apron under tension.

2. Flatwork feeding apparatus of the character described in claim 1, each of said levers, being provided on its outwardly extending arm with means projecting outwardly from the frame to which downward pressure may be applied for depressing the levers and the roller carried thereby against the force of said springs and thusslackening the apron when the apparatus is idle.

3. Flatwork feeding apparatus of the character described in claim 1, including adjusting means for varying the force of said springs and the consequent apron tension.

4. l latwork feeding apparatus of the character described in claimv 1, each of said levers being provided on its outwardly extending arm with, means projecting outwardly from the frame to which downward pressure may be applied for depressing the levers and the roller carried thereby against the force of said springs and thus slackening the apron when the apparatus is idle, and adjusting means for varying the force of said springs and the consequent apron tension.

CLIFTON S. MALOTT', JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the file of, this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 688,912 Watts Dec. 17, 1901 1,594,394 Weston Aug. 3, 1926 1,608,930 English Nov. 30, 1926 2,013,220 Rosenthal Sept. 3,-1935 2,330,977 Johnson Oct. 5, 1943 2,412,132 Dell Dec. 3, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 121,807 Austria Nov. 15, 1930 

